Oaxaca City, first glimpses, and a sensual ravishment.

Simply, Oaxaca City is incredible.

After seven, every night, people pour out of their houses and into the streets, the plazas and the parks, usually for no other reason than to just be outdoors. There is always something happening, whether it be a festival, a political demonstration, dancing in the Zócalo or five Mariachi bands competing for noise space in the plazas. Art, music, salsa and Mezcal practically pour out of the bars, galleries and whatever else. I feel like a kid in a candy shop. Ridiculous.

Also, Oaxaca is famed for its food. For good reason. Example; Mole Negro, savoury cacao sauce. Yes. Hell yes. Yum. And chipolenas - basically grasshoppers of varying sizes, cooked crisp and covered in salt, lime and garlic. Made myself sick on them my second day here. Ate a whole bag. Totally worth it.

Better still, I´m learning to cook this food. I will be a Oaxaqueña cooking queen.

-- I want to mention that I'm living with two nuns from New York, they're staying in the same host house as me and studying Spanish at the same place. Now I haven't had much experience of hangin' with nuns, but these are two very cool ladies. No habits and no talk of religion at all so far, just food and people and life. They're just so excited about everything that México is, and about life in general, its fabulous to be around. One of them has a very "New Yoik" accent, which is hilariously apparent in her Spanish accent. "Pienso qué si" becomes, "peyensoe kay siii". These women work with Mexican migrant workers in NY State, and want to be able to communicate better with them.
Its fascinating to find other travellers' reasons for being in México and for studying Spanish, they are so many and varied, and make me realise that my reasons for being here are not clear in my mind. They're abstract, but becoming more apparent every day. All I know is that it feels right to be here.

Anywho, here's some peekies.